More people arrived to live in New Zealand in November than those heading overseas long-term, with a net gain of 600 migrants.

It was the highest net monthly gain since December 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The exodus to Australia seems to be slowing down. There was still a net loss of 2800 to Australia in November, but that was down from the average net loss of 3300 a month since March 2011, just after the big Christchurch earthquake.

The latest net loss to Australia reflected fewer people leaving for Australia and more people coming back across the Tasman.

Despite the net gain of 600 in November, in the year to the end of November, New Zealand still suffered a net loss of 1600 migrants.

The net loss to Australia was 38,800, down from a peak of 40,000 in the year to August.

The November year figure resulted from 53,500 departures to Australia, offset by 14,600 arrivals from Australia. In both directions, most migrants were New Zealand citizens.

The annual net loss to Australia was offset by net gains from most other countries, with a gain of 5600 from Britain, China 5200 and India 5000.